On Friday, we invited four inspirational women to Cobham Hall to speak to our Year 9 students as part of their Personal Development Framework.
The women we welcomed each work in a leading sector and play a pivotal role within their profession. It is inspiring for our students to see the careers that these women have pursued and the hard work they have put in to get there.
During their time here, the professionals offered our students expert knowledge about the working world and provided advice and tips for interviews.
Earlier in the week, the Year 9 students prepared a cover letter and thought about how they could promote themselves in an interview setting.
Then, on Friday, Aimee, Naomi and Katherine conducted one-to-one mock job interviews with each of the students. They asked them about their school subjects, their future career goals and what they could bring to the industry they were interested in.
Once the interviews were complete, the students were offered the opportunity to ask questions. In groups, they gathered around the inspirational women to find out more about the realities of the working world.
Although many of the students were nervous and found the experience daunting, they all approached the interview professionally and impressed our guests.
Meet our Inspirational Women:
Aimee Nicholas
Aimee Nicholas is the Co-founder and Managing Director of Clearcut Venues based in Rochester, Kent. Aimee supports a wide range of clients from all industries for a multitude of corporate event requirements throughout the year. Primarily sourcing venue options and managing final event details all over the UK and into Europe for corporate events. In a nutshell; Aimee works closely with her clients to understand their briefs and what they want to achieve from their event and delivers solutions. Clients include Specsavers, Citizen Watch, Investors in People and clients from the Fintech & Pharmaceutical industries. With an expansive career in hospitality (including 8 years working for Hilton Worldwide), Clearcut was established in 2017 from a passion to form long-lasting relationships with clients and provide a unique and bespoke service offering. A 2022 Finalist of the Kent Business Woman of the year award and Runner Up of the Inspired Achievement award acknowledging the rebuild of the business after the pandemic had a detrimental effect on the events industry.
Naomi Gutierrez
Naomi Gutierrez is one of two female Service Delivery Managers in the South-East region. She is in charge of suppliers delivering routine and reactive maintenance of civil and technology assets throughout the M25 area. Naomi has received multiple High-5 awards for her dedication to her work and for overcoming challenges, as part of the Leading Women’s network to empower women in engineering and also a mental health first aider.
Katherine Davies
Katherine Davies read English at St Peter’s College, Oxford University, after attending Tonbridge Grammar School and then Sevenoaks School. Katherine then spent two years at the College of Law and undertook a training contract to be a solicitor at Cripps, a firm in Tunbridge Wells, Kent. Once she qualified, Katherine specialised in Corporate law and moved to London, and then later on to Southampton where she particularly enjoyed buying and selling owner-managed businesses. Katherine explains that corporate law is busy and fast-paced and describes that it involves attention to detail but also seeing the whole picture. Katherine says,
“There can be a lot of pressure and several all-night meetings, and you need to think on your feet. It is very rewarding when you have a happy client, either at the start of a new venture or retiring and enjoying the fruits of their labours. I thoroughly enjoyed my legal career and would recommend it to anyone.”
Recently Katherine has been learning SEN in education law, and has become a governor of a local authority specialist school.
Well done to all our students who took part, and a huge thank you to our inspirational women for taking the time to come in and provide this valuable experience and knowledge with our Year 9s.